


out of this lion's den

by afrocurl



Category: Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Gen, Tumblr: jaegercon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-10
Updated: 2013-08-10
Packaged: 2017-12-23 00:58:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/920111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afrocurl/pseuds/afrocurl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's a world to save, and though he's not sure how his team found the information, Marshal Nick Fury is going to do his level best to keep kaiju from taking everything he knows.</p><p>He's likely to regret the decision after everything's said and done, though. His team is sort of insane.</p><p>(Better known as bringing the MCU into Pacific Rim.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	out of this lion's den

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thefrogg](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thefrogg/gifts).



> This is a gift for **theironfrogg** for Jaegercon2013 on tumblr, based on a plot bunny zie had about the MCU and Pacific Rim. I wrote something that would fit into a plan zie had, but I didn't actually write that part.

The clock was ticking and getting steadily closer to 00:00:00:00 as Fury's finger hovered over the big button on the console next to his desk. If he pushed that button he'd be in contact with all of the remaining Jaeger teams. If he pushed it he'd be able to make one final call to the Hong Kong Shatterdome.

His fingertip brushed the button - pounding footsteps coming his way, and he looked up to Banner and Foster skidding into the room.

Banner was out of breath - typical - but Foster looked sure-footed and half-crazed. “Sir, we know what the kaiju have planned. We need one Jaeger to drop a nuke into The Breach for it to close.

“One last attack - a targeted attack - and we can win.”

Banner nodded as Foster spoke, and Fury nearly asked how they knew that. Only, he really didn’t want to know what his top scientists did in their spare time. 

That was called asking for trouble.

“Lehnsherr! Xavier! Get ready to follow through on three active Jaegers at once. We have a world to save.”

Finger still ready, Fury finally spoke across the ship, “We have credible news that there is a way to close The Breach. The last three Jaeger teams will head for The Breach to close it. However, do not give in to hope just yet. We're not through this. Fury out.”

Shutting off the speaker, Fury let out a long sigh and hoped for the best.

-

There were specific ways in which Fury knew each Jaeger team prepared for battles. 

Fury knew that Stark and Rhodes were always at odds outside of the Conn-Pod, but settled into their handshake as soon as the connection opened.

It was just as he knew that Barnes and Rogers never slipped out of sync; childhood friends were just as good as siblings for neural links if they were to be believed.

Barton and Romanov never broke, and so Fury never really saw the difference between their on-mission and off-mission selves.

There was only a matter of time, and effort, before the final battle ended. He really, really hoped that he wouldn't have to say any more goodbyes to any more Jaeger teams.

-

Lehnsherr and Xavier looked frantic and as if they were ready to actually merge bodies. Fury knew that asking for three launches simultaneously was asking much, but until today, he had had no reason to doubt them.

The pair mumbled to each other in some hybrid language that only they understood, but worked like lightning to handle sending three Jaegers off into battle.

Fury wanted to say something to the pair, but then thought better of it as their mutters became more fast-paced and louder through the room.

“Lehnsherr, Xavier, you have five minutes. Hurry the fuck up,” was what he said instead, because he had no reason to change his attitude now.

“Budapest Purple goes out first. Then Steel Patriot and then Winter Shield. We’re sticking with having Winter Shield take the hit for The Breach, so long as the kaiju out of The Breach don’t fuck it up.

“Stations, be ready and waiting for deployment and tactical support.”

-

With three comms open at the same time, Lehnsherr and Xavier were spread thinner than normal. Barton and Romanov reported nothing wrong on their initial descent into the ocean, but just as they were making slow and steady progress towards The Breach, Winter Soldier roared through and knocked Budapest Purple into a large sandbar.

“We’re down,” Barton’s voice said. “We’re stuck between too much fuckin’ sand and none of our missiles should be used to get us out. We need back-up.”

Fury half wanted to yell into Barnes’ ear about being reckless, but there wasn’t anything he could say that wasn’t a string of expletives that could reach all the way to what used to be Los Angeles.

“Stark, Rhodes, before you support Barnes and Rogers, get Barton and Romanov out of the sandbar. We need all of you mobile. “

“Aye, Sir,” Rhodes said back, before the comm went dead for a minute.

“Get them back online, Lehnsherr. Xavier. This won’t work without everyone up.”

Fury saw one of them nod, and figured that the other would be working just as hard as the former to get the comms back up. 

There was a crackle and then the line came back on. “We’re back, Sir. We’ll see to Barton and Romanov and then head towards Barnes and Rogers near The Breach.”

“Get on with it and shut up, Rhodes. That goes double for Stark.”

Comms down for a blissful moment, Fury took in the room, and noted how tense everyone was. He supposed it was natural, given that if this plan didn’t work, more and more kaiju would come through and destroy the planet.

“Don’t doubt yourselves,” he said by way of inspiration. He kept his eyes glued to Lehnsherr and Xavier as they kept working to coordinate all the data from Banner and Foster to the Jaegers.

-

The comms kept going in and out as the trio of Jaegers paced closer and closer to The Breach. It was a small relief to know that Rhodes and Stark were able to bring Barton and Romanov back into the game, even if their Mark I Jaeger was on its last legs. Hopefully they wouldn’t be needed for another battle after this.

“Sir,” Lehnsherr spoke, “four kaiju have come out from The Breach. All category fives.”

“Relay that to the teams and let’s work as fast as we can to take those motherfuckers out. We don’t have much time left.”

Lehnsherr parroted the information he had back to each Jaeger and the room went still, anticipation thick around them.

“Permission to fire cannons, sir,” Romanov choked out.

“Granted, no need to ask now, soldier. Just take them out and leave Winter Shield the chance to discharge their nuke.”

There was no reply back from Romanov, for which Fury was glad. He wanted the comms clear. They couldn't waste time on idle chit-chat and orders that the teams already knew about.

Moments of silence passed and Fury kept his eyes glued to the data on the screens. Before he could say anything else, Xavier coughed.

“Budapest Purple can’t handle much more, sir,” Xavier said. “Her cannons are almost out of ammo, and she can’t take another hit from one of those new kaiju.”

“Let them get off their last shots and then get them out of there.”

Losing one Jaeger before any of the kaiju had been defeated was not how he’d hoped this would go, but there was nothing else to do now.

“They have two kaiju in their sights, sir. We won’t let them down without taking at least one out,” Lehnsherr said, just before he started to shout at Barton and Romanov on how to kill the two kaiju.

Fury stood still and watched the readings, silently hoping that the few remaining canons could take out the kaiju in their way and get them back here without killing them. He had lost far too many pilots in the last few years for him to lose another pair so close to the end.

He lost himself in the memories of his other pilots, and just as he was about to turn down a very dangerous road, the room erupted with whoops and hollers.

“Two kaiju down, Sir, and Budapest Purple is making her retreat,” someone said, though Fury couldn’t tell amid the din that had risen around him. He simply nodded and went back to focus on the data screen.

The noise around him didn’t die down, and he had little energy right now to chastise everyone for the outburst when there was still much work left.

-

“We’re taking too much damage, Sir,” Barnes said over the comm as a loud crash echoed off in the distance. “There’s no way we can get to The Breach and close it,” he added, as if Fury hadn’t been able to put two and two together. 

“Then do your best to get that kaiju down and do something about the other before Rhodes and Stark take it. Just get it done, son.”

Much like Romanov, Barnes cut the line and soon Winter Shield was doing her level best to take out at least one of the remaining kaiju. With a silent comm, there was little Fury could do but wait.

So he waited.

Twenty minutes later, the comm went live again and the labored voice of Rogers broke free, “We got one down, sir, and the other is close. We’re going to try to down her down and leave the rest to Rhodes and Stark.”

“Good, keep up the good work and when it’s done, get the fuck out of there. It’s bad enough that Rhodes and Stark have to get Steel Patriot into The Breach before they can eject.”

“Sir,” Rogers said back, and Fury wished that he could beat just an ounce of obedience out of the man. Now was not the time for protocol and decorum.

Now was the time to kill some kaiju and save the planet.

-

Another roar cut through the room, just as the data screen showed no red dots within sight of two green ones.

That was a good sign, but they were not safe yet.

“Rhodes, Stark, get your Jaeger's ass into that breach and then get the hell out of there.”

The line was quiet, except for a few loud breaths before Fury looked at the screen and saw the green dead. They had to hope for the best now.

-

There was only so much that hope could do in situations like these. The last Jaeger’s comm had been dead for far too long and there had been no signs of life since then.

He tensed and kept waiting, looking around as he could. Lehnsherr and Xavier were silent as was the rest of the room.

The site of The Breach closed as he stood. Instead of the room erupting in cheers again, it remained deadly silent. Still no word from either Rhodes or Stark.

When Fury turned to look at the rest of the room, a nearly silent beep echoed through the room. Seconds later, a green dot appeared at the surface of the water, though whoever was at those coordinates said nothing.

“Wait for him,” he said, knowing that no one else would initiate contact without his approval.

Another five minutes passed before that comm opened. “I hope Tony makes it,” Rhodes said.

“Why wouldn’t he, Rhodes?” Fury said through his own growl.

“He had to drag me to the pod because I got knocked out as we fell. Broke the handshake so if he was going to get The Breach closed, he had to manually activate the nuke.”

“Then we wait, Rhodes. We’ll send a team as soon as we see Stark’s comm go live.”

Fury knew he had to wait. But he was sick and fuckin’ tired of doing that.

-

“Never worry about me, Fury,” Stark said as he gulped in air. “I had it all handled.”

“Stark, you did no such thing. We’ll have a conversation once you’re back on base. Rest assured.”

“Aye, Sir.”

-

Conversations with Stark were not so much conversations as listening to the millionaire’s jabbering for a few hours before he almost exhausted himself.

Only this time, Fury didn’t mind. They had done their job and every government was congratulating the Shatterdome for its efforts.

Once everyone calmed down and left the base, Fury sat and thought about the future. There was one to think about now.

Small mercies.

-

Settling back into life in New York after so long in a Shatterdome was difficult, but Fury did as he always did and followed a pattern.

After that, it was easy.

The news replaced the manic sounds from Lehnsherr and Xavier, though there was nothing that could actually replace their tongues.

News, at least, he could understand. However, as he listened to the woman on his screen, he was horrified by what he heard.

“People around the country have started to petition the remaining portions of the US Government to change the date of the next election on the condition that they will all vote Tony Stark, hero of The Breach, into office. No one in Washington was available to comment, and we expect that no one will.

“For now, Stark has returned to New York and is hard at work for his own company. No one was Stark Industries was available for comment either.”

Fury shook his head in disbelief and went back to thinking about anything that wasn’t Tony fuckin’ Stark.

That man was trouble, even now.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to **ninemoons42** for the beta. Title nicked from "Lion's Den" by Eve 6.


End file.
